My Story: Ariely Burgos

By ARIELY BURGOS

My name is Ariely Burgos and this is my story.

I was born in Belleville, New Jersey and when I was little, I moved to Tampa, Florida. I moved to Florida in between the time I was baptized and when my little sister was born.We are 15 months apart. She’s been by my side all of my life. She is my best friend.

My first school was Sam Rampello Magnet school in downtown Tampa. I started in kindergarten there and my last year there was in second grade. My sister and I both went there, but my sister was in a grade below me. I went to that school for three years. We changed schools because my mom was talking to the priest at my church and he told her about the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship through Step Up For Students. He told her she should apply to see if she would qualify, and she did. We went to St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Tampa where I started in third grade. I was more nervous than ever.

That year, I realized how shy I could be. At school, I did not talk to anyone and when I spoke no one heard me because I was so quiet. No one noticed me. The only person I talked to was my sister at lunch. My sister was – and still is – a confident, social and outgoing person. She is sassy and she is not afraid to speak her mind. My sister and I are complete opposites. She always made friends on the same day. My favorite part of attending the same school as my sister was that she always had my back no matter what. It was a little hard being social, but that was the least of my worries for what was next to come.

When I was in fourth grade, I was really behind with my reading, and I really struggled. I went to therapy. I had a therapist named Ms. Jen, and she was so much fun. She helped me with my homework and other schoolwork. We made real progress and one day she asked me to do this quiz. She said it was to see if I have dyslexia so I said, “OK. Why not?” I took it and the test showed that I have dyslexia. I knew I had memory problems, but this was a completely new level. It explains why it took me three hours to do my homework in fourth grade. It made me feel different, so I had to go in for more testing.

I found out I also have Auditory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. I tried another year at St. Joseph’s and I was just struggling more. I stayed up really late doing homework; I got stressed out a lot, and I stared to get bad headaches. Nothing was helping me! I really didn’t know want to do. Ms. Jen recommended a new school that would help with everything. So, I changed schools again. I finished my fifth grade year at St. Joseph’s.

The next year, I went to Morning Star Catholic School in Tampa. Again, I was nervous ever. I went without my sister to this school. I made it through the first couple of hours, then on our break between classes, I could no longer be strong and I cried. I cried because I was in a new school without my sister; I missed being with her and I was going to miss my youngest sister going to preschool. I was scared my sisters would think I was different, and their friends would think I was different because I went to a different school. So, I cried, and then a girl in one of my classes noticed me and I told her why I was crying. She reassured me that I would be OK. I was starting to like this school and it was easy for me to fit in. I made friends and I was more outgoing. I loved how all the teachers cared about me and made learning fun.

My sixth and seventh grades were amazing. My eighth grade year was fun, too, but an event happened that changed the way I looked at life. At the beginning of that year, I looked at life with happiness and joy. I never even saw any darkness; I believed in light. I was so excited when I found out who my homeroom teacher because I had her the last year for religion and she was, and forever will be, my favorite teacher. In November of that year, as we got ready to leave for our Thanksgiving break, she said would be out for a while because of medical issues, but back before the Christmas play. She said not to worry, so I didn’t. But she didn’t get to come back at Christmastime. She was in and out the hospital a lot. She came back to the classroom once or twice.

We didn’t see her for a while and my class was worried. She loved us as if we were her own children. All the teachers told us that she would be OK , but she wasn’t. In April, we got a note that went home saying she had died. I was devastated. She was the only person that I ever knew who passed away. At that moment, my mind was not filled with joy or happiness, but with despair and darkness. At that moment, all of my inner-joy was gone. I was not happy about life; I was not looking forward to anything in the future. I was just hurt. I still went on, though.

I decided to just keep it all inside. That didn’t help at all. I put on a happy face for everyone, but inside I was hurt and didn’t know what to do. After a while, I decided to talk to the guidance counselor. I really just needed to talk and she understood that. I began to feel OK. That lasted until I had to choose high schools. I wanted to choose a high school that was right for me and I could fit into just fine. In the end, my mom decided for me because I couldn’t. She decided on Cristo Rey Tampa High School.

It’s a school that gives you an opportunity. It gives you job experience and it comfortably became my new high school. I just started at the school this fall, but I really like it. I am glad my mom chose it. It is a good school and I really recommend it. As part of the learning, the school gives you an off-campus job and you work there once a week. I work Tuesdays at Step Up For Students, where my scholarship comes from, It’s so much fun. Everyone is welcoming and friendly; they all are willing to help you when you need it. I like working at Step Up and learning more about things that happen in the real world and getting really good experience.

Editor’s note: We like having you at Step Up, too, Ariely. We’re so proud of you and how far you’ve come! We were first introduced to Ariely at Morning Star where we did a photo shoot for our annual report. We learned she wants to become an athletics coach. Here’s her photo in our Step Up For Students 2015-16 annual report with her wonderful smile:

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